


My Ghost, Where'd You Go?

by justyrae



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Magic, Mentions of Murder, Past Character Death, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 06:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5153024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He still doesn't believe in ghosts, now he's just not so sure about going into an abandoned building all by himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Ghost, Where'd You Go?

**Author's Note:**

> FOR [TORI](http://gentleantics.tumblr.com) <3 hope this cheers you up my little buttercup, love you!
> 
> super big thanks to A for coming up with the entire second half of this fic, you're the best <3
> 
> title from "Ghost" by Halsey

Everybody knows about the one house just off campus that's haunted. Depending on who you ask, the story behind it can get a little convoluted and/or terrifying. There are a number of rumors regarding just how many people died in it, ranging from just one or two to a bloody massacre that ravaged the city, but in reality it's probably all bogus.

At least, that's what Louis thinks.

He doesn't believe in ghosts, not one bit. He's the type of person who shouts during scary movies about how utterly absurd the whole thing is, always saying that he isn't scared and if he were in a horror movie he'd be the one to survive.

That's how it all started. One drunken boast too many and someone who's willing to take him up on it.

"If you're so brave, why don't you go see for yourself?"

Louis smirks as he takes the last gulp of beer from the bottle he's holding and swallows it obnoxiously loudly while he ignores the small voice of reason in the back of his mind warning him that this is a terrible idea.

"You're on," he says smugly, wiggling his eyebrows at Liam.

Liam laughs and lets out a disbelieving scoff like he can't quite believe that Louis actually said yes. Louis remains smug because really Liam should know better by now than to expect Louis to back down from a wager.

"Alright, when?"

"Right now?"

"Louis, it's the middle of the bloody night."

"What better time to go hunting for ghosts? Or are you too scared, Liam?"

Liam shakes his head. "Don't forget, I'm not the one who's going in there."

"Yeah, yeah." Louis waves his hand in Liam's face, cackling when he gets pushed away. "C'mon, get your coat. I've got places to be."

*

Louis doesn't start losing his nerve until he, Liam, and a few of their other mates are standing outside the fence surrounding the house. The buzz of alcohol is wearing off thanks to the cold night air but Louis refuses to let on that he's a little scared. Just a little.

"You going in or what?" Stan asks with a taunting laugh and Louis flips him off as he steels himself in preparation for going in. All by himself. Alone.

This seemed like a much better idea when Louis was drunk.

"Alright," Louis says, first to himself under his breath and then louder as he spins on his heel and opens his arms as though he's showing off for the others. He is, partially for them but mostly for himself because if there's one thing that Louis is good at it's faking until he makes it.

"Just a few minutes, alright?" Liam says in a low voice, once the cheering from the other lads has died down.

"Wanna come in with me, Li?" Louis nudges him and grins. "Protect me from the big bad ghosts?"

"You couldn't catch me dead in there!" Louis barks out a laugh and Liam curses under his breath when he realizes what he's said. He ends up pushing Louis through the fence just to get him to stop laughing at him, giving him the final incentive to actually do what they all came here to watch.

Louis squares his shoulders and heads towards the front door with a confident stride even though his heart's already pounding and the hand clutching his phone is definitely shaking. He doesn't dare turn on the phone's flashlight until he's inside for fear that his friends will see the flicker and know how afraid he is.

He still doesn't believe in ghosts, now he's just not so sure about going into an abandoned building all by himself.

He slips in through a crack between the wooden boards that are supposed to keep people out and coughs at the layer of dust that gets expelled into the air as he goes. He quickly turns on the flashlight on his phone and holds it up to try and get a decent look at the place as he tries not to dwell on the shiver that runs down his spine.

It's dark and dirty in the front hallway; leaves and other debris are scattered across the floor and Louis grimaces as he carefully chooses his steps so as to not disturb the piles of garbage. Who knows what's hiding in them, but he doesn't doubt that he's going to encounter at least one rat before he gets out of here.

The wood creaks underneath his feet as he continues through the hallway and there are more than a few places where he's not entirely sure whether the floor is going to hold his weight. He passes by several doorways before ending up in what he can only assume used to be the kitchen, judging by the tiled floor and long since rusted out sink. He fails to hold back another shiver when he shines the flashlight on the counter and sees several spiders scurry out of sight.

"Disgusting," he mutters under his breath.

Louis doesn't know exactly what he's supposed to do now, unsure if he's meant to grab something from the house to prove he actually went in further than the foyer or what. He's in the middle of cursing the fact that he didn't specify the rules with Liam and the others before heading inside when he hears a loud creak from the room above the kitchen and his breath catches within his chest.

He waits, frozen in place, for another sound. Part of him is hoping that it was just his imagination, that his mind is playing tricks on him for being stupid enough to break into an abandoned house in the middle of the night, but when it happens again he swallows harshly and starts panicking.

Against what's unequivocally better judgment - and going against everything he's ever said about himself if he were stuck in a horror film - he decides to investigate the sound by going upstairs. His feet seem to have a mind of their own as they lead him back out into the hallway and towards the staircase, his hand gripping his phone tight enough that the edges dig into his palm even though he's started to sweat from nerves.

He tries to climb the stairs as quietly as he can, wincing every time the wood creaks beneath his feet. No other sounds echo throughout the house by the time he reaches the top of the stairs and he thinks that maybe he _did_ imagine the sounds he heard in the kitchen. Or maybe it's just a neighborhood cat prowling around for mice and he has nothing to worry about at all.

He's halfway convinced himself that he's going to find some mangy cat in one of the rooms upstairs when suddenly he shivers, harsh and uncontrolled. He's only just stepped into a room but it feels like the temperature has suddenly dropped fifteen degrees and he has no idea why.

After almost reaching for the light switch, Louis raises his phone up to cast the beam of his flashlight across the room to see if maybe he's freezing because there's an open or broken window letting the cold air in. What he finds isn't just a broken window, but a boy about his age standing in the far corner and Louis drops his phone altogether as he stumbles back half in fear and half in surprise.

"Who are you?!" he demands as his back hits the wall behind him and the boy turns. Louis' dropped phone lands with the flashlight facing up towards the ceiling, illuminating the room enough that Louis can still see him. His heart is pounding in his ears and he desperately wants to grab his phone and get the hell out of the room, the house, possibly even the _city_ \- but he's frozen in place, staring at the boy.

He doesn't say anything in return as he stares back at Louis with curious eyes. He doesn't make any movements towards Louis which doesn't exactly calm Louis down but he's not immediately afraid for his life, which is a good thing.

"Did Liam put you up to this?" Louis asks, still in the same demanding tone. "Or Stan? Thought you'd give me a scare, give them something to laugh about? I've got to hand it to them, they must've called you quick after I said I'd do this."

The curiosity in the boy's eyes turns to confusion and he tilts his head to one side while Louis keeps his back against the wall and slides down towards the floor as though crouching is going to somehow protect him from whatever this boy might do.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he says quietly, startling Louis with the sound of his voice despite the timid tone.

"Pull the other one," Louis spits in return, still on the offensive. He darts forward quickly to grab his phone from where it fell to the floor and shines the light directly at the boy who flinches slightly but stays otherwise still. "Who sent you?"

"Nobody sent me," the boy says with a laugh, "I'm not-- I live--"

"You're a townie, is that it?" Louis laughs hollowly. "Think it's funny to give uni kids a fright when they get brave enough to check out this dump?"

"It's not a dump," he replies as he frowns.

"Are we in the same house?" Louis challenges. "From where I'm standing, it's a dump."

"It wasn't always like this," the boy says with a sigh before he turns away from Louis and looks out the window.

This is Louis' chance to get out, to escape with all his limbs intact just in case this mysterious boy turns out to be some sort of psycho with an axe or something. There's something about the way this boy reacts to everything Louis says that makes him wonder what his story is. He inexplicably doesn't want to leave even though the sensible part of his mind is practically screaming at him to run the fuck away, but he doesn't. Louis does a once-over of the room - just to make sure there aren't any weapons laying around - and takes a hesitant step towards the boy.

"Are you alright?" he asks tentatively, stepping closer to him while still keeping a safe distance between them.

"S'a funny question," the boy says, "dunno how to answer."

"What's that mean?" Louis frowns. "It's not a hard question, are you alright or aren't you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replies with his back still to Louis.

"I'm fine, thank you very much." Louis crosses his arms defensively, taking care to ensure that his flashlight was still pointed at the boy. "I'm not the one hanging out in an abandoned house."

"Aren't you?" The boy chuckles.

"Shut up," Louis snaps. "Who are you, anyway? I thought I'd met all of Liam's friends."

"My name's Niall," he says as he turns back to face Louis, "and I don't know any Liam."

"Yeah, alright," Louis rolls his eyes, "I get it, you've been sworn to secrecy or something. Can't let me know who put you up to this, can you?"

"I'm not--"

"Can't _believe_ Liam got me like this," he grumbles under his breath. "You'll have to help me get him back somehow."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Niall says.

"Right, sure you don't." Louis winks knowingly. "I'm Louis, by the way, in case Liam didn't tell you who you'd be scaring tonight."

"He didn't--" Niall sighs and shakes his head. "Nice to meet you, Louis."

"Likewise," Louis says as he starts to extend his hand to Niall, but then he thinks better of it and clears his throat, "y'know, under the circumstances and all."

"You're a bit mad, aren't you?" Niall says as he cracks a smile, and Louis isn't sure whether to be offended or endeared.

"Aren't we all?" he decides on replying, giving Niall a smirk. "C'mon then, show me around. Clearly you know your way around this place if you got here so fast."

Niall looks as though he's about to say something in return but ends up staying silent and simply nods in return. Louis lets him go first, still wary of this strange boy and not entirely trusting that he's not going to do something shifty if Louis lets him out of sight.

He pokes around the rest of the house with Niall close by, though the pair don't speak much as they wander. It's not until Louis announces that he's had enough and starts heading for the front door that he realizes Niall's starting to trail far behind him and he gets suspicious all over again.

"What're you doing?" he asks. "Aren't you going to come out?"

"I can't," Niall replies.

"What d'you mean you--" Louis chuckles and shakes his head. " _Right_. Can't let them catch on, can we?"

"I--"

"Don't worry," Louis says as he taps the tip of his nose and points at Niall with a grin on his face. "It'll be our little secret. Don't forget, you've got to help me get revenge."

"I don't think--"

"Maybe we'll use this place," Louis interrupts as he takes another look around. "Bet I can convince Liam and the lads to come in somehow."

Louis looks expectantly at Niall for an agreement of some sort, but all he gets in return is a noncommittal shrug and an uneasy smile.

"We're in this together now, you can't say no. We'll meet on campus tomorrow, if you like, and plan--"

"No," Niall says quickly and Louis frowns. "I--I just, wouldn't it be better to meet here?" Niall says, clearing his throat before he adds, "y'know, for planning and the like."

Louis pauses and gives Niall a considering look before a smirk spreads across his face. "I like the way you think, Niall. Alright, what's say we meet here tomorrow afternoon?"

"I'll be here," Niall says with a type of smile that Louis can't quite place, but he smiles in return anyway.

"Perfect."

*

Louis shows up at the house the following day in the early afternoon after his last lecture of the day, having given Liam the slip so as to not rouse suspicion that he was planning revenge. When Louis exited the house the night before Liam seemed relieved that he'd made it out but it wasn't enough for Louis to doubt the fact that Niall had been on Liam's side the whole time.

Unfortunately, Louis hadn't confirmed a time nor a place to meet Niall that day and therefore found himself standing in front of the gate yet again, waiting around for any sign of Niall as his nerves try to get the better of him.

Half an hour passes with no one even coming close to walking by the house and Louis starts to think that he's been had, that Niall was never going to come at all.

He turns towards the fence and kicks it angrily a few times, catching his fingers in the chain links as he glares at the house. It's then that he catches a glimpse of something - or _someone_ \- in one of the upper level windows, and his curiosity gets the better of him yet again.

He slips through the fence and walks quickly to the front door, darting his eyes back and forth between what's in front of him and the window on the second floor just in case he sees anything else. He hesitates just before opening the door, checking the window one more time before he heads inside.

There's enough light coming in from outside that Louis doesn't need to use his phone as a flashlight, but the number of shadows scattered across the walls and floor make him uneasy. He almost prefers the total darkness from the night before, at least then he hadn't been distracted every time a cloud passed over the sun.

"Hello?" he calls out as he reaches the foot of the stairs and tentatively places his hand on the banister. "Niall?"

The house is silent and Louis hangs his head in defeat. He's already turned around and about to leave when he hears Niall's voice coming from the top of the stairs.

"Didn't think you'd come back."

Louis spins on his heel and glares up at Niall, who's looking down at him with an uneasy smile.

"I've been standing outside for half an hour! Have you been in here the whole time, you dick?"

"I, uh, I live close by." Niall looks away from Louis as he climbs the stairs, stopping on the last step before he reaches the top.

"Huh. You really are a townie, aren't you?"

"Something like that," Niall mumbles, low enough that Louis doesn't even hear him.

"So," he says as he glances around, "what do you know about this place, anyway?"

Louis doesn't exactly wait for Niall to respond, instead he hops up the last step of the staircase and starts exploring the upstairs with more gusto than he had the day before. He feels more comfortable now - whether from Niall's company or the sunlight shining in through the windows, he isn't sure - and the house isn't nearly as scary as he thought it was.

"What've you heard?" Niall asks from the doorway of the room Louis is currently occupying. There are remnants of bedroom furniture scattered around and Louis nudges what's left of a bedframe with his foot as he shrugs his shoulders.

"Stuff. Stories, y'know." He glances back at Niall and gives him a wry smile, using air quotes as he adds, "ghost stories."

"Figured as much," Niall replies with a laugh that's more nervous than humorous and Louis is intrigued by it.

"Bet you know more than my mates at uni," he goes on, treading carefully because of Niall's past reactions but not carefully enough to avoid asking the question entirely, "since you're, y'know, from here and all."

"Yeah, well…" Niall shifts awkwardly and Louis turns away, thinking that maybe it's easier for Niall to talk when he's not being stared at. He thinks back to the night before, how Niall kept turning away from him when they were in the room just down the hall, and wonders how Niall can seem so comfortable and nervous all at once.

"How long's it been abandoned?" Louis asks.

"Ages," Niall says, "longer than you'd think. Used to be student housing a hundred or so years ago."

"Really?" Louis says, unable to keep himself from looking back at Niall with an incredulous stare. "This place?"

"Yeah, well, the university was a lot smaller back then," Niall counters. "Grown a bit with the times."

Louis nods and turns back around, stepping closer to the far wall so he can reach out and touch it. There's still tiny bits of wallpaper glued to the wall, though most of it has either peeled off with time or it's got scorch marks streaked across it. As Louis' fingertips brush across the surface, bits of it fleck off and fall to the ground so Louis immediately drops his hand back down to its side.

"Looks like there was a fire," he says casually, and he's suddenly painfully aware of his steps and he wonders if there's a chance he could fall through the floor if he makes one wrong move.

"Yeah, there was. Not bad enough to burn the place down, obviously, but enough that the university didn't put much of an effort into restoring it."

"Seems alright though," Louis says as he bounces up and down on the soles of his feet, giving Niall a wide-eyed look when the floor creaks loudly underfoot.

"In a manner of speaking," Niall says with an amused smile. Louis grins back at him, relieved to finally have gotten a response from him that didn't make him feel awkward. "I wouldn't go so far as to jump up and down though."

"You'd catch me before I'd fall through the floor, yeah?" Louis quips as he crosses the room with a smile. Niall ducks his head and steps back from the doorway to let Louis pass before he follows him down the hallway, not giving an answer to his question.

Louis waits until they've entered another room before he asks about the fire again, but Niall admits he doesn't really know too much about it.

"Nobody died or anything, if that's what you want to know," he says, almost defensively, which confuses Louis.

"So then what's all the talk about this place being haunted?" Louis asks. "Is that just some uni legend then?"

"That's, um," Niall rubs the back of his neck nervously and shifts his weight from one foot to the other, "that's not to do with the fire."

"What is it, then? C'mon Niall, don't hold out on me now."

"That was more recent, like." Niall sighs and lets out a dry laugh. "Recent being like forty years ago, Jesus."

"Not really that recent then, is it?" Louis smirks but it fades quickly when Niall doesn't smile back at him and Louis is surprised by the way his stomach drops, like they're back at square one already. "Niall, did… did someone really die here?"

Niall says silent and still for a few minutes and doesn't meet Louis' eye. Louis swallows harshly and part of him feels like he should reach out to try and comfort him because it seems like the subject is genuinely bothering him, but Louis remains frozen in place. He doesn't know Niall well enough to know whether or not he'd want to be touched in this sort of situation and he doesn't want to risk setting the two of them back even further.

He's surprised at his own thoughts, not sure where this need to protect Niall's feelings is coming from after barely a day of knowing him.

"We don't have to talk about it," Louis says quickly after nearly five minutes have gone by without Niall saying a word, "I was just wondering, you don't--"

"Kids have been breaking into this house long before you came around, Louis," Niall says suddenly, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor. "Not as much lately, but after the university had it boarded up instead of fixing it after the fire it was a bit of a game, y'know?"

Louis nods even though Niall isn't looking at him, but can't bring himself to say a word in case it keeps Niall from continuing with his story.

"It was almost a rite of passage, breaking into this place. All the kids knew about it but the parents were none the wiser, until this one night…" Niall trails off and inhales sharply. "It was just supposed to be in and out, just a couple minutes inside the house to prove that they weren't scared.

"They didn't know the house wasn't empty that night. There'd been a string of robberies around the city and the bastards responsible were using it as a safehouse. Nobody thought to look there since none of the proper adults knew about the ways to get in, except them. How were the kids to know they picked the wrong night to have a laugh?

"Most of them managed to get away but one… one kid wasn't so lucky. By the time the others got the police to the house, it was too late. The robbers were already gone and he…" Niall shakes his head and Louis' breath catches.

"They killed him?" Louis whispers. "Just like that?"

"Couldn't leave a witness, could they?" Niall shrugs his shoulders.

"Christ," Louis breathes out, "that's awful."

"It was a long time ago," Niall replies, "but, um, that's why they say this place is haunted. Guess he just wards off other people who might otherwise face his same fate, y'know?"

"Still," Louis says with a frown, "strange we haven't run into the ghost, innit?"

"Maybe he likes you." Niall looks up at Louis with a hesitant smile. "Knows you're not a threat."

"Excuse you, I'm plenty threatening."

Niall laughs, seemingly surprising himself with the sound as he covers his mouth as soon as it comes out.

"Shut up," Louis mutters, twisting his mouth to hide a smile of his own. "Let's talk about something else, yeah?"

"Yeah? Like what?"

"I dunno, tell me about yourself." Niall shakes his head.

"M'not all that interesting. Plus, I've done my storytelling for the day. S'your turn."

Louis rolls his eyes but obliges anyway. He tells Niall about his experiences at uni so far, then gets sidetracked talking about his mum and sisters back at home. Before he knows it, the sun's started to set and they're practically standing in the dark.

"I'd better be getting back." Louis checks the time on his phone and sees a few texts from Liam, and it's only then that he realizes he and Niall never even brought up why they were here in the first place. "Shit, we didn't even talk about our plan for revenge!"

"We didn't, did we?" Niall laughs softly.

"Guess I'll have to come back tomorrow, yeah?" Louis asks with a grin. "We'll do it proper, then."

"If you want," Niall replies with a shy shrug, "you don't--"

"Nonsense, of course I'll come back. Same time, yeah?"

"Yeah…"

"This time I won't wait outside for ages," Louis quips, "I'll just come in and you can meet me whenever."

"I'll be here," Niall says, giving Louis a smile. They both walk downstairs but Niall hangs back when Louis reaches the front door.

"Aren't you coming?" Louis asks.

"Y'know, um, I left my jumper upstairs," Niall says as he jerks his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll just run up and get it, you don't have to wait for me."

"Nonsense, I'll--"

"I'm going the opposite way anyway," Niall interrupts. "Really, you should go."

"Alright," Louis replies, slightly suspicious, "but I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah," Niall says, "told you, I'll be here."

"Alright," Louis repeats as he opens the door, giving Niall one last wave before he steps through and heads for the gap in the fence.

He turns around to look back at the house after he slips through the fence, halfway hoping to catch Niall as he leaves. Niall doesn't appear at the door and a gust of wind blows by, making Louis shiver. He curses under his breath and decides he'll actually believe Niall when he says he doesn't have to wait, turning on his heel and heading back towards campus.

*

The next day comes and goes without Louis and Niall planning anything at all, but Louis hardly notices. He and Niall spend hours in the house talking about nothing at all and laughing until they can't breathe. Louis keeps coming back every afternoon that week, under the pretense that they'll plan their revenge on Liam _tomorrow_ , but they never do.

"Tomorrow," Louis wheezes as he tries to stop laughing, "tomorrow, I swear, we'll do it."

"Tomorrow? Saturday?" Niall asks.

"Yeah," Louis answers with a smile, "I've got all day free so we can meet up here in the morning and then go for lunch or something."

"That's… um," Niall looks away and Louis frowns, "I can't tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"I just can't," Niall says firmly.

"Okay," Louis murmurs, "well what about Sunday?"

Niall shakes his head. "Sunday's no good either."

"Why?" Louis tries, but Niall just shuts him down all over again. "Well, what about Monday?"

"In the afternoon again?"

"Yeah, I've got a lecture til 3, but after--"

"That'll work," Niall interrupts. "We'll meet here again, yeah?"

"Yeah," Louis replies with another frown. "Monday."

To say that Louis mopes around all weekend wouldn't exactly be a lie, but he'd never actually admit to it. He goes out with Liam and the lads on Saturday night but he can't stop his mind from wandering back to Niall and wondering what he's doing instead.

On Sunday Louis holes up in his room saying he's doing coursework but really he spends most of the day curled up in his bed feeling sorry for himself. He doesn't understand why he's so upset over the fact that he couldn't see Niall for a whole two days in a row, but there was something in the way Niall begged off from their plans that made Louis' stomach twist uncomfortably.

By the time Monday afternoon rolls around, Louis is practically vibrating with excitement over going back to the house. There's just one problem - he shares his last lecture of the day with Liam, and he's having trouble giving Liam the slip.

"Where are you rushing off to?" Liam asks as he jogs to catch up with Louis outside of the lecture hall.

"Nowhere," Louis replies quickly, "I'm not, shut up."

"You practically ran out of there," Liam says with a laugh, "clearly you've got somewhere to be."

"I haven't," Louis insists as his cheeks turn red.

"Alright," Liam replies uneasily, "then do you want to grab coffee or something?"

"Alright!" Louis all but shouts as he comes to a sudden stop. Liam stumbles and stares at Louis in confusion while smiling awkwardly at the people walking around them who are giving the two of them weird looks.

"You didn't need to shout," Liam mumbles softly.

"I do have plans," Louis blurts out, "with your friend, Niall."

"With…"

"It's not a date," Louis goes on, "not really, right? It's not a date if we don't say it is, right?" Louis huffs. "I'm not saying I don't _want_ it to be a date, but--"

"Louis--"

"Don't make fun, Liam, I'm nervous enough as it is, I don't need you--"

"Louis!" Liam shouts, startling Louis out of his rambling stupor.

"What?" Louis breathes out, just then realizing how tight his chest feels. The look on Liam's face does nothing to relieve the pressure, in fact it makes Louis even more nervous.

"Who's Niall?" Liam asks and Louis scoffs.

"Nice one, mate. I know you and the lads sent Niall into the house after me - or before, I never really figured that out - just to give me a scare, but--"

"Louis," Liam interrupts, "I don't know anyone named Niall. We didn't send anyone into the house, I'd never do that!"

"You…" Louis gulps. "No. No, you know Niall. He's your friend, he--"

"I don't know who you're talking about," Liam insists, "I don't know anyone named Niall."

"Yes, you do!" Louis shouts. "He's your friend, he lives in town! He…"

It suddenly hits Louis that he's never seen Niall outside of the house. Every time Louis suggested that they leave to go get something to eat, Niall would change the subject or make up some excuse to get out of it. He can't even think of a single time that he's actually touched Niall - every time he's come close, Niall's ducked out of the way.

"Liam?" Louis says quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I… I think I've seen a ghost."

*

"Niall!" Louis shouts as he bursts through the door. "Niall! I know you're in here, where are you?!"

"I was starting to wonder…" Niall appears at the top of the stairs with a smile, but it fades when he sees the manic look in Louis' eyes. "Louis, what…"

"Is it true?" Louis demands as he starts climbing the stairs.

"Is… what…" Niall's eyes dart to Louis' hand, sees that he's clutching a piece of paper and when he meets Louis' eyes again he knows exactly what Louis is talking about. "So you figured it out, did you?"

Louis lets out a harsh breath and lets his gaze fall to the stairs and that's when he finally realizes that Niall's feet don't fully touch the floor. He slumps down and leans against the banister as he brandishes the piece of paper, crumpling it in his hand a bit before he smoothes it out against his thighs.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks softly as he stares at the paper. It's a copy he'd made at the library of a newspaper article that detailed the murder Niall had told him about - the one that, as it turned out, had been his own. Louis traces his fingers across the photo in the corner, an old school photo of Niall that had been printed along with the article, and lets out a shaky breath as he waits for Niall to say something.

"I don't know," Niall replies.

"Don't give me that!" Louis shouts as he throws the paper at - or rather, through - Niall's feet. "You lied to me!"

"I didn't--"

"You lied to me!" Louis yells again. "You tricked me into coming here every day, into fa--" Louis' voice catches for a moment, but he refuses to let it get the better of him. "You made me believe you were real! That what we had was… real."

"I'm sorry," Niall says sadly. "I didn't mean to trick you, I thought for sure you'd figure it out after that first day and then when you didn't… I sort of hoped you wouldn't."

"Why?" Louis asks. "So I'd keep coming back and you could pretend like… like…"

"Like I was still alive," Niall finishes.

"But you're not," Louis says with a choked sob. "You're not, Niall."

"I know that," Niall says, but Louis won't let him go on.

"Do you know what you've done to me? You're all I've thought about for a week! How am I supposed to go on, now that I know you're…"

"A ghost?"

"Christ," Louis groans as he puts his head in his hands, "you scare me, Niall."

"I'm sorry," Niall whispers. "I'll just… I'll go, shall I?"

"No," Louis says as he tries to reach out and grab Niall to keep him from leaving. His hands pass right through him and a cold shiver spreads through his body, but Louis doesn't let it deter him. "No, Niall, you scare me with the way you make me feel. I've never felt like this before, not about anyone."

"It doesn't matter," Niall says as he starts to shrink away, "I'm dead, Lou. You deserve someone you can touch, who can hold you; someone you can grow old with, not someone who can't do anything but watch life pass them by."

"It's not fair," Louis says with a sniffle as tears start streaming down from his eyes. "It's not fair."

"I know, believe me, I know."

They both go silent, the only sound in the house is an occasional sniffle from Louis as he tries to get a grip on himself. He can't bring himself to look at Niall; now that he knows he's a ghost he can't see Niall like he used to. He never noticed how Niall hovered, the ethereal glow all around him, how he can see right through him if the light hits him just right.

"What if…" Louis says, starting to speak before the idea is even fully formed in his head, "what if we made it fair?"

"What do you mean?" Louis looks up and sees Niall giving him a questionable look.

"What if…" Louis glances over his shoulder, through the banister at the floor below. "I…"

"No," Niall says firmly, "no, Louis, you can't."

"But then--"

"You can't, Lou, you've got friends, family, a whole _life_ \--"

As Louis starts to stand up, he protests, "But Niall, we--"

"It doesn't work like that!" Niall shouts, startling him enough that he falls back into his sitting position on the stairs and stares up at Niall with wide eyes.

"I…"

"You don't get it, Lou. You know nothing about the afterlife. There's all these rules about who goes where and I'm not going to let you throw your life away."

"But…" Louis sniffles again and wipes his eyes so he can get a clear look at Niall. "Why?"

"I can't keep you all to myself," Niall replies miserably. "It's not fair to you."

Louis nods and looks down at his hands. He's not even sure where the idea came from, what came over him to even _suggest_ such a thing. It's absolutely absurd for him to even consider doing something that serious just for the chance to be with Niall, but it wouldn't be the first time Louis has jumped to a conclusion without properly thinking things through. Truth be told, he's relieved that Niall was adamantly against it.

Out of the corner of his eye he catches a glimpse of where the newspaper copy ended up, just underneath Niall's feet hovering a foot or so above the ground. He reaches over to grab it and smooth it out all over again, letting out a soft laugh as he looks at the photo.

"Wish I'd met you back then," he murmurs. "I would've protected you."

Niall chuckles. "Maybe."

"I would've," Louis insists. "Nobody would've hurt you with me around."

"I know."

Louis ducks his head again, wishing he could reach out and actually touch Niall, not just have his hand go right through him.

Without warning a white light appears and envelops Niall, so bright that Louis has to cover his eyes. When it finally disappears and he can uncover his eyes, Niall is staring down at his hands with a look of utter disbelief. Louis blinks a few times before he realizes, Niall doesn't have that strange glow around him anymore.

"Niall," he breathes out, "what happened? What was that?"

"I didn't think this would happen to me," Niall says with a laugh, and between one second and the next Louis is getting pulled to his feet and Niall's hugging him.

Niall is _hugging_ him.

"What-- how is this possible??" Louis asks as he clings to him tight enough that he may never let go. Niall laughs as he pulls back from Louis' arms just enough so they can look at each other.

"I was given a second chance. It doesn't happen often, almost never, but…" Niall laughs, "it makes sense."

"What does?" Louis shakes his head. "I don't understand."

"A lot of people give up their humanity as soon as they become a ghost, they turn evil and chose to spend eternity terrorizing the living," Niall explains, "but others try and hold on, to keep any small part of who they used to be just for the tiniest chance they get a second go."

"So you're… you're really here? You're alive?" Louis touches Niall's arm, then his shoulder, and finally he reaches up to cup Niall's cheek and laughs softly. "Forever?"

"Well, not forever," Niall laughs in return, "but yeah, I'm alive. Because of you."

"Me? What'd I do?"

"Louis," Niall says as he puts his hands on either side of Louis' face and smiles at him, "I've never felt more alive than I have with you. I haven't laughed in years, but I've laughed all week with you. Don't you see? You gave me something to live for. You made me human again."

"Niall, I…" Louis laughs and tips his head forward to press their foreheads together. "I can't believe it."

"I know it's weird, and I understand if it's too much," Niall mumbles nervously.

"No," Louis says quickly, "that's not it, not at all. I just can't believe you're here. You're real, I can… I can touch you. I can…" Louis trails off as he glances from Niall's eyes to his lips and takes a deep breath before he leans in slowly. Niall doesn't pull away, he lets Louis kiss him and smiles when Louis pulls away.

"You can kiss me," Niall whispers.

"I can," Louis mumbles back, "and I'm gonna keep kissing you forever."

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


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